Clans of Eltmeria
There are twelve organizations of Eltmeri in their city, which located in Valenwood. Together, they are known collectively as Daeddstern (Eltmeris: , "Twelve Stars"), the Twelve Clans of Eltmeria. They've supposedly originated from the Varlamora society eons ago, when the first Eltmeri came to Tamriel, and function effectively as political parties within the Eltmerian polity, in a very alike way to the Great Houses of Morrowind controlling the trade and local administration in the city. Unlike Morrowind, however, there is no member of their society who lives outside the clans, because the clans are not families: they are factions within Eltmeria, each independent of the others and ran by its own ruling body, which consists of a leader and four council members. The leaders of the clans are the ruling body of the city. By long tradition there's no clan more important than the others, but for practical purposes three of the clans are considered the "main" clans responsible for the others. Representatives from each of the minor clans form a council body within the main clans, which is always ran by the leader of the major one. Although all the clans are considered as equal in importance and power, the three main are intended to make taking decisions within a certain political sphere quicker, with no need of gathering all twelve leaders to discuss the matter. The leaders of the clans are collectively referred to as the Council Beneath the Stars, and the three main leaders are called Rising Stars by other Eltmeri. The twelve clans are based on the twelve birthsigns. The clans that represent the Mage, the Warrior and the Thief are considered the "major" clans within Eltmeria, while the other nine clans are equally distributed under the wing of each major clan. Thus, under the Mage there are the Apprentice, the Atronach and the Ritual; under the Warrior there are the Lady, the Lord and the Steed; and under the Thief there are the Lover, the Shadow and the Tower. There is also the thirteenth birthsign, The Serpent, but that one is a very rare occurrence among the Eltmeri. History The Eltmeri have a strong belief in destiny and its association with the cosmological aspects, such as the Divines, the stars and other things. Descending from the Old Ehlnofex, they used to live in Varlamora, an island on the sky, but after a terrible civil war broke between their race, many Eltmeri fled from their homeland and came to Tamriel. Alongside them, they brought many things of their culture, such as the Eltmeri crystals, their spells and unique technology, among other things. Fear that another civil war would eventually break among their city founded in Valenwood, the Eltmeri decided there would be no king anymore; instead, they divided the leadership of their city between the twelve clans of Eltmeria, therefore assuring no man would hold all power for himself like their former king once did. Each clan is unique and functions independently of the others, but they may and will help each other. Twelve Clans Clan Dewin Clan Phrentil Clan Asugnem Clan Defaedel Clan Rylfwr Clan Gwraeg Clan Glwydd Clan Daewyn Clan Llaedr Clan Carwyr Clan Cysgwdd Clan Tywlr The Serpent Clan Sarffwaz Unruly and unpredictable like their constellation, members of Clan Sarffwaz are not considered to be part of the official clans of Eltmeria. Even when there is one — which has not been registered for over a thousand years —, they are considered to exist outside the city's ruling body due to their untidy nature. That's not the same as saying they have no political influence in the city: Eltmeri born under the sign of The Serpent are seen as messianic figures, sent by the gods to lead their race to victory whenever a crisis arrives. Although there is not requirement for members of this clan to be made kings of Eltmeria, both known Eltmeri born under The Serpent became king nonetheless and are now seen as saints among their brethren due to their legendary and seemingly godlike achievements. While all members of the other clans follow very specific patterns in their abilities and traits — even those of Clan Defaedel, though they are harder to predict —, those of Clan Sarffwaz seem to be completely random. Many Eltmeri scholars attempted to decipher the pattern, but the lack of practical info on the subject — since only two Eltmeri were born under The Serpent — makes it an extremely hard task. Some believe members of Clan Sarffwaz to be born with specific abilities according to the other constellations, moons and the Divines themselves, but the most commonly accepted theory is that their power is granted to them in the moment of their birth by the gods, making it completely impossible to foresee. While most Eltmeri see them as messianic figures, however, there's also those who believe members of Clan Sarffwaz to be cursed and fear them, for while they feats in life may be great, their untidy aspect makes them very dangerous since their actions cannot be predicted. Council Beneath the Stars Rising Stars Though no clan is considered better than the others, there are three main clans in the council, collectively called "Rising Stars" by the Eltmeri. Clan Dewin, Clan Rylfwr and Clan Llaedr, associated with The Mage, The Warrior and The Thief, are the "main" clans in the council. While all the leaders are allowed into the council chamber, the heads of these three clans are responsible for voicing their charges' official decisions. This is done for practical purposes, since listening to all twelve clans inner councils would take too long. Each of the three clans is responsible for three others, the "charges" of their respective constellations: Clan Dewin, represented by The Mage, is responsible for Clan Phrentil, Clan Asugnem and Clan Defaedel. Clan Rylfwr, represented by The Warrior, is responsible for Clan Gwraeg, Clan Glwydd and Clan Daewyn. Clan Llaedr, represented by The Thief, is responsible for Clan Carwyr, Clan Cysgwdd and Clan Tywlr. While all clans in Eltmeria have an inner council and a leader, the three Rising Stars work in a different way. Their inner councils are composed by the leaders of the other clans (i.e., Clan Dewin's inner council members are the leaders of Clan Phrentil, Asugnem and Defaedel), though the leader of a main clan must still be someone born under the clan's birthsign. Since mostly there's no king in Eltmeria, the Rising Stars function officially as the city's ruler, responsible for taking the decisions. King of Eltmeria Although officially they have no single ruler, the Eltmeri people in the past had few individuals who were by them called Cöranyrhwr, ( ) which means "Sun Crown". The sun is considered by them the king of the stars, and therefore is used in Eltmeria as the symbol of the king whenever one is appointed in a time of need. Twelve rays come out of it, each representing one of the twelve constellations, as well as the Eltmeri clans assigned to them. However, there's no sun ray associated with Clan Sarffwaz, for the constellation of The Serpent, made of "unstars", is not ruled by the star king. Thus, whenever an Eltmer is born under the sign of The Serpent, they're called "Untidy", and no assigned king has authority over them. However, this is not the same as saying a member of Clan Sarffwaz cannot be made king: actually, of the two Eltmeri recorded as being born under The Serpent, both were named king in their times and achieved legendary status among the Eltmeri society. This has led many among Eltmeria to see members of Clan Sarffwaz, whenever they're born, as messianic figures, sent by the gods in times of great need. However, there is also many who fear the day the clan will come back: Eltmeri born under The Serpent are said to be sacred and live outside the tides of fate, meaning they are very inconstant and also very difficult to predict. References Trivia Category:Factions Category:LadyEluned